


Her Finest Hour

by VonPelt



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Bad Flirting, Banter, Book 5: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, F/M, Fluff and Humor, Humor, Making Out, Room of Requirement
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-26
Updated: 2020-07-26
Packaged: 2021-03-06 03:35:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,222
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25536697
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VonPelt/pseuds/VonPelt
Summary: The DA had been caught, Dumbledore driven from Hogwarts and Headmistress Umbridge rules the castle with an iron fist. Susan begged her aunt for help but did not get the answer she was hoping for. Which is why she came up with her own form of resistance.
Relationships: Susan Bones&Megan Jones, Susan Bones/Harry Potter
Comments: 1
Kudos: 54





	Her Finest Hour

**Author's Note:**

  * For [TemporalKnight](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TemporalKnight/gifts).



_Dearest Niece,_

_Your last letter included serious accusations, accusations which should not be raised without evidence. Without evidence, my hands are tied. Without evidence, your accusations would have a lasting, negative impact on the House of Bones. And while your defence of Potter is admirable, and we owe him a great debt for stopping the Dark Lord, I expected better from you._

_There is nothing which would suggest that his tales are true. Had HE returned, we would have seen attacks by now. During the War, thousands have perished. Entire families were wiped out. But as of today, Cedric Diggory is the only unexplained death within more than two years. There was some odd business with the dementors over the summer, but if HE had returned, they would be deserting by the score, not confusing their orders one evening before returning to their posts. Therefore Harry Potter is considered a disturbing element, even an enemy of the Ministry by some._

_It is for the best if you are not associated with Potter. Dolores is unquestionably an inept educator, but she will be rotated out of Hogwarts next year to return to her previous responsibilities. Do not defy her any more than you already have. Your personal disdain should not lead you to fabricating stories. Keep in mind that the Undersecretary is an influential witch who could pull many strings for you._

_Amelia Bones_

_Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement_

_Order of Merlin, Third Class_

* * *

Susan Bones looked up from her aunt's letter, rubbed her eyes and read it again. But since, predictably, the words did not magically change to a hidden message, she had to restrain herself from tearing it to shreds. Or her hair out.

" _It is for the best if you are not associated with Potter."_

It had been a stupid idea to write to Amelia, and Susan was once again reminded why she and her aunt did not get along. Sure, it might be _politically beneficial_ to distance herself, but Harry was her friend, and she would not stop being his friend because of stupid Ministry politics. If he could stand up against Umbridge, then she certainly wouldn't back down due to her legacy obsessed aunt. Their "teacher" was torturing students in order to push her agenda, in order to paint Harry as a liar and twist Cedric's death into something Dumbledore could be blamed for.

Ever since the DA had been discovered, Susan felt like doing something defiant, something which would pick up the torch and give Umbridge the finger. But with the Inquisitorial Squad watching the other three houses like hawks, it would be impossible to organise a second secret group.

Umbridge's tyranny came with a deluge of stupid rules. Meetings were limited to two people, it was forbidden to read anything not related to the subjects one took and teachers were not allowed to talk to students about anything but their classes. It was forbidden to come closer than six inches to someone of the opposite gender, or be alone in a room with them.

The last two were especially stupid because any kind of inappropriate behaviour had always been against the rules, but no student ever had cared about that. Come to think, it was probably the easiest rule to break since the castle was enormous and other than Snape, McGonagall and now Umbridge, no teacher enforced it anyway. According to the rumour mill, Flitwick even gave Sue Li and Justin points for "promoting inter-house unity" when he had caught them in a broom closet the previous week.

" _It is for the best if you are not associated with Potter."_

It was at that point that Susan had a mad idea. _What if she did the opposite of what her aunt suggested?_ _Instead of distancing herself, what if she got closer to him?_

With Dumbledore gone, Harry was the last real thorn in Umbridge's side, despite the havoc caused by the Weasley twins. The easiest rule to break was the fraternisation one and the best choice of partner in crime would be Harry as that would be the biggest middle finger towards Umbridge and her aunt. So what if she combined those two defiances?

Truth be told, Harry wasn't the most attractive bloke. Sure, he was cute and had those lovely eyes, but he was also rather short and scrawny. Yet there was something intriguing about him, something which made snogging him tempting. During the DA meetings, he had been able to commandeer the whole room, had a presence which went beyond their meetings. And while not quite at the level of Winston Churchill addressing the nation in its darkest hour, he had given them hope in spite of Umbridge and the Dark Lord's return. And not only hope but also the tools to fight if need be, a chance if things went badly as was looking more and more likely. That had been their finest hour, when they defied the crazy toad for half a year in spite of her best efforts. Padma Patil, of all people, had had the presence of mind to burn their manifest, which had allowed most members to escape after they had been betrayed.

But even the charred remains had been enough to drive Dumbledore away, leaving them alone to endure Umbridge's reign. And rule she did, creating almost a hundred educational decrees, each more pointless than the one before. Who cared about Ministry-approved rolls of parchment or standardised shades of ink?

Against _that_ bureaucratic juggernaut with its tyrannical oversight and draconian punishments stood Harry, who continued to look more alone by the day, and more miserable.

However, even when standing alone and against the odds, Susan could still see that Harry's fighting spirit lived on. Who was she to miss an opportunity to rekindle the flames of resistance?

And honestly, while he would not the best catch, he was also far from the worst. The Yule Ball had shown the true colour of quite a few prospects. Some just were utterly clueless, while others tried to take advantage of these openings. And then there were people like herself, who ended up shooting themselves into the knee because they had no idea what they were supposed to do. And the ones with wrong expectations, like Parvati. It had been clear as day that her date would have preferred a detention with Snape over the whole circus. Not to mention, everyone had known that Cho had shot him down. So expecting anything out of a date with Harry had been futile.

Now he was the icon of their resistance, something which had made him thoroughly miserable as Umbridge was gunning for him. Even his girlfriend had broken up with him to defend the traitorous cunt who had sold them out.

Well, Susan could see what the Ravenclaw had tossed away. Harry, despite being hopelessly clueless, had genuinely cared for Cho and all she did was throw it back into his face to add to his misery. And there were even worse rumours. Lavender and her friends were convinced that Chang had only used Harry to get over Cedric. And the Gryffindors were usually spot on when it came to this kind of drama.

Sadly, this was quite a mess and not as easily solved as when her little cousin scraped her knee. She couldn't just place a kiss on the wound and -

_You could try! Harry certainly looks like he could use some cheering up._

_Wait, where did that come from?_

_Well, he is cute enough and you have been thinking -_

_Amelia said that I should stay away from Harry -_

_Amelia said that you should stay away from Harry. You should repay her kind advice!_

_But - Well alright, I might have thought about it, but -_

_Admit it, you liked those thoughts, the images which came with -_

_Alright, alright, he could use more than a hug and the idea sounds nice, but -_

_See! All you had to do was admit to what you have been thinking about. His lovely eyes, the smile he had whenever his lessons worked -_

_Fine!_

If she was going to make out with Harry just to stick it to her aunt and the Toad, she might as well break a few other rules along the way. It shouldn't be that difficult to get her hands on a bottle of Firewhiskey, and if their meeting happened to be after curfew, well that was just unfortunate. Through a series of unfortunate coincidences, a Quibbler would be nearby. And Merlin forbid if they broke the dress code.

_Wait, when did I decide to make out with Harry?_

* * *

" _It is for the best if you are not associated with Potter."_

She needed something that would catch Harry's attention and yet come across as homely. Something which would put him at ease, which would make her look like the girl next door, not some high-maintenance bitch which would remind him of Cho.

After going through a good part of her wardrobe, Susan decided on a simple combination of a low cut tank top and sweatpants, both in black. It was not the most stylish choice, but it did not look like she was trying too hard either.

"That's a nice contrast to ya red hair. But 's quite daring," Megan Jones, Susan's roommate pointed out.

"It would be daring if I had any cleavage to show."

"Ya have more than enough to keep a boy staring."

"You think so?"

"So there is someone ya want to stare!" Megan laughed and Susan knew that her traitorous blush answered that question better than words could. "They might not try to see through your robes, but if you show some skin that'll keep their eyes glued to you."

"I still need to do something about my hair. How about a shag cut, maybe neck-long?"

The Welsh girl was a natural with all kinds of cosmetic charms and more than happy to practice her skills if anyone volunteered to be her test subject. And Susan was in need of her talents.

"That would suit ya face, frame it nicely. So, who is all the effort for?"

"Harry."

"Potter?"

"No, Hopkins - Do you know any other Harry?"

"Well, no," Megan replied slowly to her friend's dripping sarcasm. "But I didn't know that yah fancied him."

"My aunt told me to stop spending time with Harry but I want to do the opposite."

"That's bloody stupid. If ya aunt told ya not to jump off the Astronomy tower, would ya do it just to spite her?"

"Well, no, but that's different," Susan said weakly.

"Is it?"

"Well, I got the idea from that kneejerk thought, but the more I think about it, the more I want to do it."

"Do ya, now?"

"You know how sometimes you have a stupid idea, when you think about it, it doesn't seem as stupid anymore? Waiting won't make me happy, I learned that lesson with Terry."

"Yah still not over that arse?" Megan asked, her snort saying what she was thinking about her friend's _logic_.

"I am, but he taught me that waiting for a boy won't end up like I hope it does. And Harry is cute."

"Oh?"

"During the thing I can't talk about, we spent a lot of time together, and it was a very different side of him. He was confident, assertive, but outside of _it_ , well, you've seen how shy he can be. And I want to see more of him, of both sides," Susan admitted, her cheeks suddenly hot and flushed. "Also, I want to run my hand through his hair."

"So, are ya going to make the name literal?"

"What?"

"Yah called Bones, and with all that digging through yah drawers, yah act like yah want to bone Harry. And the shag cut is not - "

The brunette never saw the pillow coming, nor the down barrage which magically pelted her for the next couple of minutes. Once Susan deemed that her friend had learnt her lesson about horrible puns, they reached an agreement about jokes-which-must-not-be-made and the kind of haircut she would get as reparation for that crime against humour and good taste.

* * *

"So, what did you want to talk about?" Harry wanted to know after he found Susan sitting in an empty classroom on the second floor. It was not far from the library, but far enough to be out of the way of most students. And receiving a letter about this meeting at breakfast had been the highlight of an otherwise boring day. Harry took a chair from the desk in front of Susan and turned it around so he was facing her.

"Well, I've noticed that you haven't been yourself recently - "

"What do you mean?"

"You have been moping around all day and - "

"Dumbledore is gone," Harry said as if that answered everything. Which was why his eyes shot up at Susan's reply.

"So what? He didn't do anything about Umbridge while he was here, and even though we named ourselves Dumbledore's Army, he was never involved. You were our leader, and you're still here, as is Umbridge. So what are _you_ going to do about that?"

"There's nothing we can do."

"Really? So you are telling me that you could slay a Basilisk with Gryffindor's Sword, but surrender to _her_? She's been carving into your flesh, so it seems only fair to repay her in kind."

"How do you know that?"

"Your _Special Award for Services to the School_ hangs in the trophy room. Polishing all trophies there is a favourite of Filch. And for the detentions, we aren't blind. Everyone in the DA saw the scars. Lee was quite vocal about that bitch's _methods_."

"Oh."

"So, Harry," Susan said as she stood up from her chair. "How about we go to where the resistance all kicked off? It'll feel like defiance even if we don't bother her, don't you think?"

"I take it you don't mean the Hog's Head," Harry replied, a smile creeping onto his face.

"Well, yeah, that place is a little shady, isn't it? Not to mention a little difficult to get to unnoticed."

Taking to his feet and motioning for Susan to follow, Harry made his way over to the door. "To the Room of Requirement we go, then."

"How does that room work anyway? I went there with Megan and Padma once, but we couldn't find the bloody door."

"A house elf told me that all you have to do is walk past the wall three times while thinking about what you want," Harry said and spent their journey up the staircase first retelling that story and then how he came to know Dobby.

"Are there any limits?" Susan wanted to know with sudden curiosity.

"Not that I know of. It can copy the Prefect's bath down to the last tab, and Hermione said that it can even create some beach she has been to during - "

"What's wrong?" Susan asked in a whisper, flush against Harry's back after he had frozen and she walked into him. Harry was looking down at a piece of parchment that appeared to be some kind of map.

"Parkinson is guarding the Room. Perhaps - "

"I can take care of her, but I'll need this cloak."

"Are you sure? Maybe we should call it a day and - "

"I thought we might run into someone from the Inquisitorial Squad. I came prepared, but your cloak would make things easier."

"Alright, but be careful, it was my father's," Harry conceded somewhat hesitantly. His trust caused a fuzzy feeling in Susan's stomach, even if Parkinson wasn't much of a threat. After all, this was an _invisibility_ cloak.

"I will, I promise."

Susan stepped around the corner and was surprised to find the Slytherin reading at a small desk. Then again, not even Umbridge would let her goons stand in front of a bare wall for hours. However, with Parkinson's nose between the pages, the next part became a lot easier. She snuck forwards until she was next to the desk, stuck the tip of her wand past Harry's cloak and whispered the incantation for the stunning spell. The red light hit Parkinson at point-blank range and the girl collapsed forwards without ever suspecting that something was amiss.

Susan rummaged through her pocket until she found one of WWW's top sellers. Stuffing the puking pastille into Parkinson's mouth was more difficult and disgusting than she had imagined, but the effect was instantaneous. The Slytherin began to convulse even before she was awoken and hit by a Confundus charm for good measure. With one hand in front of her mouth, Pansy barrelled towards the nearest lavatory, although it didn't look as if she would make it in time. But that wasn't Susan's problem, she simply pulled the cloak off, cast a cleaning spell on her hand and waved Harry over as she summoned the room.

* * *

"What would you have done without the cloak?" Harry wanted to know once he took stock of the cosy room he had stepped into. Not that there was much to look at, a Chesterfield in front of a fireplace, a carpet on a wooden floor, old, bare brick walls with tapestries - well it was basically what the Hufflepuff common room would look like if it had been made for only two people.

"Caused some noise near the stairway. She would run past me to see what that was and I could stun her."

"You can be scary, you know?"

"If only. I'd just have to twirl my wand for a bit and Umbridge would run for the hills."

"You make being batshit crazy sound appealing."

"The one benefit to being Bellatrix Lestrange. I wish I was better at channelling the insane bitch."

"Better? Wait, you tried?"

"Yes, and I can't cackle if my life depended on it. I sound like a broken Christmas toy. And red hair doesn't look nearly as intimidating as her black mop, especially this short," Susan pointed out with a stand between her fingers.

"So, what's your plan then, Dark Witch Susan?"

"Well, you see, I wanted to do something against Umbridge after the DA was betrayed."

"There is little we can do with Malfoy stuffing his nose everywhere," Harry replied dejectedly, his earlier good mood instantly gone.

"We might not be able to get rid of her, but right now we're breaking seven educational decrees," Susan said and, in one swift motion, pulled her robe over her head. "Correction, eight. Are you feeling up to the challenge?"

Harry's eyes lingered on her for a moment before he snapped out of it. With a shrug he followed her example and was left in the gold and scarlet of Gryffindor, wearing a t-shirt and shorts which used to be the first layer of his old Quidditch robes. Apparently, she hadn't been the only one who felt rebellious.

* * *

For an hour, all they did was chat. Susan's thoughtfulness paid dividends as they ate their way through a small mountain of biscuits and drank tea from a thermos flask.

"It just feels unfair. What have I ever done to piss off the Ministry?"

"You spread an inconvenient truth. Fudge doesn't want to be the Minister during whose tenure Voldemort returned. Which means that right now, you're not very popular in the Ministry. I wrote to my aunt but she outright dismissed anything I said. She also told me that I shouldn't be friends with you - "

"What?"

"As you can see, I don't care," Susan pointed out dryly and pointed her thumbs towards herself. "My father is from an old pureblood family, but as a third son of a second son, he never really cared about that. He married a Muggleborn and thought that this would be the last he ever heard of the whole pureblood crap. Then the war came and suddenly, Dad and Aunt Amelia were the only Bones left. But unlike Dad, she was always big on legacy and tradition and wants that I follow in her footsteps and _restore the House to its old glory_."

"But you don't?"

"Merlin no. She tried a few times to make it sound appealing, but it always sounded pompous and stuck up. Who cares who my great-great-great-grandfather married for an _advantageous_ match or which great-aunt five times removed had three children?"

"Purebloods have to learn that?" Harry wanted to know, unsure if that improved or worsened his opinion of the average witch or wizard.

"Most from the old families do. Certainly the likes of Parkinson and Greengrass."

"Do you - think that I would have learned that if my parents - "

"I - I don't know," Susan replied slowly. _Really, what was she supposed to say to that?_ "My parents graduated from Hogwarts before yours began. And my father, while not disowned, wasn't invited to social events anymore after marrying a Muggleborn."

Through all of this, Susan had edged forward and was now leaning against the Gryffindor, who failed miserably at keeping his eyes on her face. It was actually quite hilarious how his gaze would drop to her décolleté and jerk back to her nose before the cycle repeated.

A year ago, she would have waited for Harry to make the next move. Which hadn't worked out for her back then, so action had to be the name of the game. Susan really hoped that she hadn't misunderstood his not-so-subtle looks for more than they were as she closed the gap between them.

Despite her telegraphed intentions, Harry froze still when their lips touched. For an agonising moment, he just sat there, staring wide-eyed at her as if she had suddenly turned into Snape. Slowly and as if he was afraid of something, he began to kiss back and, hesitantly at first, put a hand on her shoulder. He looked equal parts thrilled and scared, which was pretty much how she felt.

Mustering her courage for a second time, she pulled Harry close for another kiss and this time, he was eager to respond. Very eager.

They broke apart eventually and Susan didn't care about her dopey grin, especially since Harry had the expression of someone who has been told that there would be a second Christmas. And seeing him like this made her feel all kinds of fuzzy.

"Fuck, you smell good," Harry said in a husky voice and whatever she had been expecting, this was not it. She tried to spin around to better face him, but somewhere along the way, she lost her balance because she couldn't stop laughing at the absurdity of his comment. The Gryffindor tried to catch her and the next thing Susan knew, she had pushed him back and was atop his lap.

She was pulled close and then, suddenly, she was flush against his chest, Harry's head on hers and he inhaled deeply. "Delicious. Vanilla and oranges - or maybe blueberries?"

"The label just said exotic fruit," the Hufflepuff mumbled, slightly put out by the absurdity of her first proper snog ending in a discussion about her shampoo. But the mirthful twinkle in his eyes made her realise that perhaps he was just teasing her.

"It really suits you."

"Thank you."

_Really, could this get any weirder?_

* * *

Ten minutes later, Susan had gotten his shirt off while he had his hands on her back, the hem of her tank-top just below her bra.

"Do you think that we have defied Umbridge enough?" Susan asked in a tone which made it obvious which answer she was expecting. That excuse was far too good at breaking through any fears or hesitations she might otherwise have.

"We better make sure," he mumbled and leaned in for another kiss, this one softer and less needy. "Would be a shame if Umbridge won in the end."

"Then let's aim for victory in spite of all terror, victory, however _long_ and _hard_ the _road_ may be."

* * *

Judging by her giggle, Harry was sure that he was missing something, yet the roll of her hip made sure that higher thought was out of his grasp for the moment. But given that he currently had a rather beautiful girl in his arms, he was not about to complain about things _outside_ of his grasp.

Truth be told, Harry had no idea what he was doing. Things with Cho had been confusing, and during their two months together he hadn't gotten as far as he did within the last few minutes. And had Susan not accidentally bitten down on his lip, he would be certain to be dreaming. It still felt unreal, like nothing he had experienced before: The wonderful softness of her skin, her lips hot and wet on his, the scent of her shampoo and soap, her nails tracing over his scalp. Had someone told Harry that he had died and this was some kind of heaven, he wouldn't have cared.

He was flying blinder than during that Quidditch match back in 3rd year, but Susan did not sound as if she was complaining. Quite the opposite in fact, the way she pressed his head down as he trailed kisses down her neck and the noises which escaped her swollen lips convinced him that just like with the DA, he was a natural at any form of resistance against Umbridge.

**Author's Note:**

> Beta'ed and in parts co-written by LifeEquals42
> 
> Just a silly idea for an oneshot. It was kinda annoying that Harry always ends up as the one in charge or calling the shots eventually because he's some kind of sex god, so here's a short fic where he does not and is not.


End file.
